Two Heroes
by Twofaced Cesario
Summary: Being re-written. AU. Commander Shepard has the capability to defeat the plot waiting to unfold. To prevent this from happening, the Commander shall be replaced, with another, less stable person; His sister.
1. The Swap

Amiyashi: I do not own Mass Effect. The glory belongs to Bioware. I also don't own the song. That's a Hammerfall song.

_Italics _thoughts or past events, unknown person

**Bold** Lyrics, exaggeration

***

The Upper Hand

Chapter 1

The Reapers

"_Our end is near. We must not let this Shepard end us. We must do something about it...."_

_A being walked through the empty halls of the Citadel, his eyes darting around. He entered the Human Embassy, which was mercifully empty. It headed to the Ambassador's desk, sifting through the files in the Ambassador's computer until he found it. The list of __**human**__ Spectre candidates lay in front of him. He skimmed the page feeling disgusted. How dare those pathetic Humans try to enter the Spectres? The ignorant race wasn't ready._

_The being finally stopped when he saw the name John Shepard. He accessed the file, reading over the bio briefly. Shepard was raised in space with his sister. They ran with gangs, and joined the military at 18. Shepard saved Elysium from an assault of raiders, and was given a star of Terra. The being popped a disk in, deleting the file of John Shepard and replaced it with a different one. It took its disk back before exiting the Office._

_Nothing stood in the way now. The fool Shepard won't be able to stop them._

_The reapers shall come again._

***

"**Angels of mercy**

**Our journey must proceed**

**With hearts all filled with chivalry**

**The life blood that we need**

**Heeding the Call**

**One and for all**

**Never surrender with glory we fall**

**Brothers unite**

**Let's stand up and fight**

**Fulfilling the fate**

**We are Heeding the Call**"

The lyrics rolled off Cali's tongue. She was absorbed into the music, never mind that the only ones listening to the song her band was playing were the Bartenders and a few random patrons, some were human, most were of other races. She didn't care. The ancient song still consumed her soul and burst out in expression. It didn't matter that the song didn't relate to her. But it did relate to her dearest brother. She opened her eyes, preparing to burst in song again.

"**Heeding the Call**

**One and for all**

**Never surrender**

**With glory we fall**

**Brothers unite**

**Lets stand up and fight**

**Fulfilling the fate**

**We are Heeding the Call!**"

The tune ended, and mild applause had filled the little bar. Cali Shepard put her guitar back in its case, not even bothering to say goodbye to the crowd. The other races hated human songs, and the humans didn't appreciate the old songs, only enjoying the noise it made and the discomfort it brought to the other races. She hoisted her guitar onto her shoulder, as she exited the stage, entering the back with a small frown on her face. Her bassist, Alex, looked at her strangely "Is something the matter, Cali?" he asked in his gentle baritone voice, which seemed to wrap her in a security blanket. Not this time though.

The woman let out a depressed sigh, as she leaned against the wall. "For one thing, no one appreciates the old songs anymore, and the only one who does is shipping out tomorrow for Eden Prime. He didn't even hear the song! " Cali pouted angrily, to which Alex patted her on the head, a small smile on his face.

"I'm sure if John heard the song, he would be rather happy." Alex replied, comforting the girl as their drummer, Sasha, headed in, her black and purple bangs getting in the way of her sight, though it never seemed to bother her.

"Isn't John the one who keeps telling us to replay all our songs until the crack of dawn?" Sasha asked, her drawn-on eyebrow raised. The other two nodded, to which Sasha burst out laughing. "Well, at least he'll only be gone for a few weeks, tops, I mean, how hard can it be? Eden Prime is one of our calmest colonies! He'll be back before you know he's gone!"

"Actually, I'm not going anywhere." A voice came from behind the three; they all turned around, to look at John Shepard, an alliance military soldier, one of their best, who was smiling rather grimly. "Last minute call. They aren't sending me out." Cali leaped up and hugged her brother, grinning happily.

"That means you get to stay and listen to our songs again, big brother!!!" the girl cheered happily, to which John shook his head.

"Yes and no, Cali. I will be able to stay, but you won't be playing your songs. Do you remember back when we were both in active service?" John calmed the girl down, as she nodded in response. "Do you remember Akuze?" he spoke in a quiet voice. Again, the girl nodded, shivering.

"How could I forget? The Thresher Maws...I left after that. I can't deal with it." Cali mumbled sadly. The other two band members had left at this point. They always knew that Cali's past was a sore spot, and Akuze was the worst of the bruises.

"Well, never the less, you were also given special honours from that mission. The Alliance needs you back, it seems. You were selected to be the Commanding Officer on the Eden Prime Mission. Suit up, sis; you're going to be on the Normandy. I'll take care of the band, you just go." John whispered, holding his sister tightly in a hug that clearly said 'I'll see you again real soon'

***

Cali stood awkwardly on the Normandy's main deck. She was standing right next to the Executive Officer as the ship was launched by a Mass Relay, a strange artefact left by the Protheans before they vanished. She looked at the much older man, before asking cautiously "Um...Why are we heading to Eden Prime on the most advanced ship there is with a full crew?" She kept her voice to a whisper, as Pressley silenced her with a small shush, which kept her mouth shut. She let out a sigh, before heading off to the cockpit, deciding a view would be better. The pilot had just finished listing off a bunch of things to a Turian on board.

"Fifteen hundred is good. Your captain will be pleased." The Turian stated, before exiting the cockpit, glancing at Cali as he passed her. She blinked twice, before looking at the pilot, Joker.

"I hate that guy." He grumbled, to which another human laughed.

"Nihlus gave you a compliment...So you hate him?" the human asked, an eyebrow rose.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit after going to the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead, so that's incredible. Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on board. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid. The council helped fund this project, they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Well, that is the official story, but only an idiot believes the official story."

"You expect the worst?" Cali cautioned, deciding to pitch into the conversation, to which Joker, the pilot, shrugged

"Eh, my feelings are an occupational hazard. We don't go anywhere unless there is a reason, so what are we doing?" Cali was about to guess when the communicator cracked alive.

"Joker! Status report!" came the voice of Captain Anderson, a decorated officer from the Alliance. Joker rolled his eyes, before replying .

"We just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain. All systems engaged, and everything looks solid."

"Good, Find a Comm bouy and link us to the network. I want mission reports relayed to Alliance Brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye Aye, Captain. Best brace yourself, sir; I think Nihlus is headed your way." Joker replied, a small smirk on his face, which was knocked off when Anderson replied

"He's already here, Lieutenant. Tell Shepard to meet me in the Comm room for a debriefing."

"I'm on my way..."Cali mumbled as she left, hearing Joker and Alenko's last bit of conversation.

"Is it just me, or does the captain always sound pissed?"

"Hah, only when he's talking to you, Joker."

***

Cali headed to the Comm Room, passing by the doctor and a corporal conversing. Finally, the male, known as Jenkins, called over to Cali. She pondered, before shrugging and heading over.

"What do you think, Shepard? Do you think we'll be on Eden Prime long? I really want some real action."

"I hope you're joking, Jenkins. Your real action usually leads to me patching up half the crew in the sick bay!" the Doctor grumbled

"You should calm down, corporal. A good soldier stays calm even when in battle." Cali replied.

"Ah...Sorry, but I'm really excited, I've never been on a mission with a Spectre on board."

Cali sighed, before replying "Keep your head down, and everything will work out."

Jenkins rolled his eyes, "Easy for you to say. The Shepard Siblings are practically legends. You and your brother really proved yourselves. You with Akuze, and your brother with the Blitz! Everyone knows what you can do!"

Cali shook her head, smiling slightly "I left the Alliance after Akuze, remember?"

"But you came back. And the alliance recognized your potential, which is why they brought you on this mission, right? Well this is my big chance; I need to show the brass what I can do!" Jenkins grinned, as Cali sighed.

"Lots of good soldiers die playing hero, I know that from experience. Again, keep your nose down and you'll do fine."

"Hey, I won't screw this up!" Jenkins replied as he raised his hands up like he was defending himself. Cali sighed, before leaving into the Comm. room. She entered the circular area with a small frown on her face, as she saw the Turian Spectre was already there.

"Ah, Commander Shepard, I was hoping you would get here first, it would give us a chance to talk." Nihlus greeted

"Talk? About what?" Cali cautioned, as the Spectre began to pace.

"I'm interested in the world we're heading to, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful"

"It is beyond beautiful, but beauty isn't its only feature. Eden prime is a symbol of our race, shows how far we came. Eden Prime is proof that we can both establish colonies across the galaxy and protect them." Cali replied, momentarily stunning Nihlus.

"Indeed...but how safe is it really?" The Turian was now facing away from Cali, who raised her eyebrow.

"Um..."

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?" He asked, now advancing on her with daggers in his eyes. Cali couldn't reply, but at that moment, Captain Anderson arrived.

"We think so. I think it's about time that we tell the commander what's really going on."

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus added, now backing away. Cali sighed, before looking at the Turian.

"Well that is something that the crew can sense." Cali responded, to which no one argued. The three could already tell the crew suspected something, especially with Nihlus on board.

"We're making a covert pick up on Eden Prime. That's why we need the Stealth Systems operational." Anderson said.

"Covert explains why you didn't tell the crew. What are we picking up?" she asked calmly, despite standing beside one of the most decorated men in the Alliance.

Anderson turned his body, towards Nihlus and away from Cali. "A research team in Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

"I'm guessing this is a big thing, since most of our technology relies on that of the Protheans. When people found the Mars Cache, our technology massively improved in just a decade." Cali voiced her thoughts. Anderson had a small smile on his face.

"Eden prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study"

"Obviously, this goes beyond just human Interests, Shepard. This discovery could affect every species in Citadel space." Nihlus added.

"If we share the discovery with the Citadel, we'd improve relations. There's a political angle to this...which could explain why Nihlus is here." She thought out loud. "Plus, humanity probably doesn't have enough to study these things. Salarians are far more equipped to study this than humans are."

"Actually, the beacon isn't the only reason I'm here, Shepard. " This sentence surprised Cali and filled her with a sense of dread.

"Nihlus is here to see you in action. He's here to evaluate you." Anderson added, his eyes now on Cali.

"E-Evaluate me? For what?" she asked cautiously. _Should've known...I keep bumping into him every turn._

"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger say in the role of shaping interstellar policy and the citadel Council. The spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, then that shows how far Humanity has come." Anderson pushed on.

"Not many could have survived what happened on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live, a useful trait." Nihlus added

"I left the Alliance after that. I suffered PTSD for three months. Isn't there better candidates?" she asked, looking between Nihlus and Captain Anderson.

"You surprised me, Shepard. Anyone else would've died on that mission. That's why I put your name forward." Nihlus ignored her comment. Cali let out a small sigh.

"Just tell me what I have to do, Sir." She asked.

"I'll need to see your skill for myself, Shepard. Eden Prime is just the first of several missions together." For some odd reason, when Cali heard this, she felt dread even worse than before. She didn't even hear what Anderson said next, only snapping out of it when she heard the intercom

"Captain! We got a problem!" Joker's voice rang out through the Comm. room. "Transmission from Eden Prime. You'd better see this sir!"

"Put it up on screen" Anderson ordered. With that, the screen came to life, gunfire being heard and seen. The recorder was pushed down by a woman, who barked "Get down!" before she resumed firing. As the carnage unfolded before them, Cali clutched her fists, feeling a dark sense of Foreboding.

"We are under attack, taking heavy casualties!" a man began reporting "We cant- Gack! We need Evac! They came out of nowhere. We nee-" The man was dragged off, as the camera rotated to see two more soldiers fighting, a strange ship, and more gunfire. Then...static.

"Everything cuts out after that, no comm. traffic at all...just goes dead, sir."

"Rewind it, Joker, and freeze it at thirty eight point five." Anderson told. Cali wondered how he could tell. It froze at the ship, which Cali just stared at. "Status report!" he added, Cali still staring at the ship.

"Seventeen minutes out, sir, no other ships in the area." Joker reported. Anderson sighed, turning around.

"Take us in, Joker, fast and quiet... This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"A small strike team can move quickly without being noticed. We'd have a better chance of getting the beacon." Nihlus remarked.

"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold. Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander, you're going in." Anderson left. As Nihlus prepared, Cali grabbed his arm, which caused him to look at her strangely.

"Nihlus...be careful during the mission, never let your guard down, not even for a single second." She warned, before leaving, the sense of dread still there. Nihlus just watched her leave with a strange look on his face.

###

Shepard began to splash her face, standing in front of the sink. It was about five minutes before they would reach Eden Prime, and she couldn't shake the feeling of fear and dread. About four minutes ago, she broke into a cold sweat.

Just like back in Akuze. The entire mission she felt this way, but she ignored it. She dismissed it as pre-mission excitement.

Now what will happen?


	2. Eden Prime

Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect.

Italics: Past events, thoughts, transmissions.

Bold: Lyrics, exaggeration

Underline: Song names, ship names

###

John's eyes were closed, as his fingers slid across the keys on the grand piano which stood in the corner of Lyrix, pressing them down in succession, playing the ancient song of sorrow. He knew well that the only listener was the barman, as the club was empty now. _Not that anyone would pay attention to music anyways..._ John mused mentally as he played the final note in Moonlight Sonata just as the door opened to the club, the gentle chime of the door ringing through the now silent room. He turned his head up and opened his eyes towards the door, hoping it was an Alliance officer, here to rectify the mistake that his sister was shipped out instead of him. Not that he was jealous or anything, but the incident on Akuze _did things_ to Cali's mind, and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to her fragile mind now. To his disappointment, it was simply a haggard human male, possibly a duster.

John thought of arresting the man, but decided against it. The man could've just been someone who has a Biotic's friend who wanted to experience what his friend was. He recalled Cali going through a similar stage, though she had submerged herself in books rather than drugs. A small smile formed on his face as he recalled his childhood, though most of his memories were bad. In hindsight, he realized that Cali was always there for him...for the most part.

"_Cali, why is your backpack that full?" twelve year old John Shepard asked the ten year old, his eyes glancing up from his many textbooks to eye his little sister's backpack suspiciously. Cali looked at him innocently, but John knew better than to trust that look. _

_A month ago, when she visited, she snuck in all sorts of sweets and toys for her brother's birthday, even bringing in a thick chocolate cake. The fact that she cared so much about her brother proved that BAaT's propaganda didn't always work...though John just counted that he was lucky. When the employees here found out, one of them tried to confiscate her bag, claiming that it was distracting, that John was a trouble, and would seriously injure her. He even went as so far as to say that John was a menace to society. When Cali heard that, she snapped and punched the man in the balls. Since he was just a doctor, and a new one at that, he didn't have the foresight to wear a cup, so when he fell to the ground in pain, Cali swung her foot up and broke the man's nose. As the doctor groaned in pain, agony, and embarrassment from the fact that he was just beaten up by a 10 year old, Cali stood up straight and declared "If I want to celebrate my brother's birthday, I'll do as I damn well please, and don't you forget it!" John was silently thankful Security didn't ban her from the station for that incident, though she has to have at least a hour of clearance to make sure she didn't carry any distractions. It incidentally also gave the doctors a chance to get ready in case she decided to lash out._

_John was snapped out of his thoughts as his sister sneezed. John looked at her with concern, but Cali just shrugged, plopping the messenger bag down on the ground beside John's bed. "Oh, it's just my homework. You guys here aren't the only ones with a lot of work." Cali teased playfully, receiving a smack to the head from John. They both knew that John hated Brain Camp with every fibre of his being, and not just for what happened with Cali._

_Eyeing her bag cautiously, John started a casual conversation with Cali about various topics; School, home, games...the usual things children talk about. He tried to keep the conversation away from the camp, knowing full well that Cali would launch into a harangue about how horrible the place is, and, when she's older, she'll get her brother out. Just as Cali relaxed, John snatched up her bag, dumping the contents onto his bed. What he expected was cap guns and gum. What he got were a bunch books on Biotics. Most were of Asari origin, but there were a few Krogan, Salarian and even a Turian book on the subject. Cali grabbed as much as she could, pushing them in her backpack._

"_...Biotics, sis?" he asked curiously, looking at the girl with an eyebrow raised. Cali just looked down at the ground, not even responding to John. He picked up one of the Asari books on the subject, flipping though it curiously. "I didn't know you cared." Cali's head snapped up at this, and her eyes were hard and cold._

"_Of course I care, John! They have you stuck at this stupid camp, claiming you're a freak of nature, and that I shouldn't see you! Dad nearly burnt these when he found them, saying he didn't want another in the family! I had to hide them to make sure I could still read on them!"_

"_Why didn't you just let Dad take them?"_

"_Because Dad is being stupid! He keeps drinking and he blames Mom because...well, you know..." She fell silent for a few short moments, before looking at her brother with the sad eyes that she would have almost permanently for the rest of her life. "I don't blame you or Mom, and I know you're not a freak, bro, but...Mom and Dad finalizing the divorce... and Dad keeps saying it's not just because Mom is in the Alliance..." The room became quiet, as Cali looked at the ground, wetness on her burning cheeks. She scrubbed at her eyes, before looking up at John, who had embraced his sister in a tight hug. Cali sniffled, not even paying attention to her words anymore._

"_And now Mom says that I can't see you anymore because Dad is gonna go to work at Mindoir for the next five years, and I have to go with him because of the stupid custody stuff... It's not fair, John...It's not fair..."_

"John...John, you ok?" The voice of Sasha brought him out of his memories. He turned his brown eyes to look at the black-and-purplette, who noted the depressed look on John's face. She mistook it as worry. "Hey, we're all worried about Cali, but she'll be fine."

"That's what I thought when she went off to Akuze." John sighed, not really wanting to talk about BAaT.

"Oh, relax, John. How hard can a simple Shakedown run be? I'm sure she's coming back already."

###

"Ripped right through his Shields...never stood a chance." Alenko's words didn't even register in Cali's mind, as she stared down at the bullet-riddled corpse of Jenkins. She was back at Akuze, back at Mindoir...bodies **everywhere**.

"Commander?" A soft hand was placed on her shoulder, as she snapped out of it, turning to Alenko, who looked worried. She mentally steeled herself.

"We'll see that he has a proper service funeral after this, but I need you to stay focussed on the mission, Lieutenant. Be careful." She added that last part after a moment's hesitation, as she tightened her hold on her assault rifle.

"Aye Aye, Ma'am."

They started on their way up the hill again, Cali moving quickly in case there were more drones about. Soon enough, three drones flew towards them, guns firing. Cali swiftly destroyed them with short, well-aimed bursts from her assault rifle, her face set in a grim mask. Just as she lowered her gun, her transmitter flickered on and Nihlus' voice emitted from it.

"_Got some burned out buildings here, Shepard, and a lot of bodies...I'm going to check it out, and I'll catch up with you at the Dig site._"

The feeling of dread filled her as Nihlus cut the communications, but she shook it off. He was a Spectre, he can take care of himself. She turned her eyes to glance at Alenko, who was now scouting out the area. With a well aimed shot, he took down a drone, which prompted her to shoot the other one down swiftly before they resumed their sprint. They ran across the hill quickly, ignoring the broken bits of drone around them, as gunfire began to approach their position. A woman in pink and white armour ran towards them, though she didn't seem to notice them. She fell to the ground, turning over quickly to fire quickly at the drones near her. As the small flying robots exploded from the bullets, two...soldier-like robots... impaled someone on a horrible spike. Colour drained from Cali's face as Alenko sprung into action, firing at the robots. Noticing him, they whipped out their own weapons and, in turn, shot back. Alenko rolled to his right, dodging most of the bullets, the rest shimmering on his shields. Cali quickly shot at the soldiers as they were distracted by Alenko.

The firefight didn't last long, after Cali hurled a HE grenade at them, luckily sticking to one of their faces. The other was caught in the resulting explosion. Cali let out a relieved sigh, as she turned her eyes to look at the female approaching them.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You in charge here, Sir?" She asked, looking at Alenko, who shook his head and pointed towards the woman beside him. At first, Williams raised an eyebrow; Surely the pale, almost frightened soldier wasn't- wait... She recognized the person just as Cali Shepard looked at her.

"Are you alright, Williams?" She asked with concern.

"J-Just a few scrapes and bruises, nothing serious...The others weren't so lucky." She shook her head, sighing "Oh man...we were just patrolling the area when the attack started. We tried to get off a distress call, but they shut down our communications...I've been fighting for my life ever since."

"Any idea what enemy we're facing, Williams?" She asked, as Alenko began to scout the area in case more came by.

"I think they're Geth, Ma'am." At this, Alenko turned his head.

"The Geth? They haven't been seen outside the Veil in nearly 200 years. What are they doing here?" He turned his head to Cali, who shook her head.

"Who knows? Maybe they're here for the Beacon. No other reason this place would be attacked." Cali threw out.

"The dig site is close, just over that rise. Maybe the Beacon is still there." Williams suggested. Cali nearly started on her way, but looked at the other woman.

"You should come with us. It's not safe here, at least not alone."

"Aye Aye, Ma'am. It's time for payback" Williams replied darkly.

###

Nihlus roughly kicked the corpse of a Husk across the room of the broken building he was in, the Turian equivalent of a scowl on his face. There were no indications of why the attack started here. He could form his own ideas, but they all lead to the Beacon. A quick inquiry to one of his contacts on the Citadel told that there were no reports of the Prothean Beacon leaked to the press, or anyone for that matter. He fired a quick shot at the Husk heading towards him, the force of the bullet from his X HMWA assault rifle at short range was far more than enough to splatter it's head over the walls. He turned his head slightly up, recalling the warning that Shepard had given him. _"Never let your guard down, even for a single second." _It seemed obvious, of course, especially on this dangerous mission, but the look Shepard had given him...

He turned his thoughts to the file he received on Cali Shepard prior to arriving on the Normandy. She had a brother and a mother, both in Active service, and both suited better than her on this mission. Her father was deceased, having perished in the attack on Mindoir. Cali had signed up with the Alliance when she was 16, a little bit before her brother did in 2172, and both were later listed in the N7 Special Forces program. She left the alliance seven years later, having developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after Akuze, and dropped off the map, hiding in the masses at the Citadel apparently. And now, six years later, she's back? It didn't make sense. When he was asked if he wanted to help suggest a new spectre candidate for the Humans, why didn't he receive a different one, instead of Cali's?

Nihlus shook his head. When he chose her for the program, he thought that she had gotten over the stress. The look she gave him said otherwise, but she hasn't called him for help yet, so he assumed that was a good sign. She didn't seem panicked when she was on the Normandy, just confused, like she didn't fit. His observations of her showed that she was usually calm, unless someone mentioned Akuze or Mindoir.

He spied something in the distance, which brought him out of his musings about Shepard. The spaceport easily seen from his spot atop the large building, which prompted him to bring his hand to his communicator "Change of plans Shepard, there is a small spaceport up ahead, I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there." He clicked his communicator off, before he set off.

###

"This is a good place for an ambush, stay alert." Alenko warned the others, as they climbed up the hill leaving the dig site. The camp was just up ahead, and Kaidan could already see it, along with more corpses stuck on spikes. In front of him, Cali tightened her hold on her Assault rifle. _No need to tell me twice..._ she thought to herself. A small _whirr _sound brought her attention to the large spikes, which began to lower the corpses down, which got up. "Oh my god, they're still alive!" Alenko shouted, preparing to fight.

"What did the geth do to them?!" Williams gasped as the creatures approached them, Cali fired her gun rapidly, pausing only to let it cool down for a few seconds before she resumed shooting. The husks took the bullets in, falling only after the third burst from each of their guns. Not even paying attention to the camp beside them, Cali began to dash towards the spaceport, ignoring the shouts behind her. _Something's going to happen. Something's going to happen, I just know it..._

###

Nihlus turned his head slightly, to look towards the being that was walking a few feet away. He was kneeling down behind a crate, and holding onto his assault rifle, his jaw fixed in a tight line. He saw in the distance, Shepard was standing at the top of the hill. He stood up, turning to face the being behind him, only to see his mentor. "Saren?" he blinked in confusion. He lowered his weapon, as his mentor turned and greeted him. "This isn't your mission, Saren...what are you doing here?" he asked, not noticing Cali running down the hill.

"The council decided you needed some help on this one." Saren smiled convincingly. Nihlus sighed, feeling relieved. He brought his weapon down to his side, as he walked away from Saren, looking towards the cargo transport.

"The situation is bad...I never expected the Geth to be here..."

###

Cali's legs were burning from running so fast, but she ignored it as she used her gun as a club, whacking the Husks out the way, her mind not even registering them. The feeling of fear and death was upon her again, filling her as it did on Akuze. "NIHLUS!" she screamed. Alenko and Williams were standing atop the hill behind her, shooting at the husks and staring in awe at the giant ship.

###

"Don't worry...I have everything under control" Saren replied calmly, as he brought his weapon up.

"NIHLUS!" came Cali's scream. The addressed Turian turned his head, only to see the service end of Saren's pistol. He barely had time to react before the shot came.

"_Never let your guard down, not even for a single second..."_

###

Cali stood at the steps of the port, her eyes widening as she watched helplessly. The bullet was fired into Nihlus' chest, missing his head due to his movements. She turned her gaze to the other Turian. Like all of his kind, his face was covered by a mask of hard cartilage, but his was the pale colour of bone, and the shape resembled a skull with blue eyes, glowing ominously. His frightening face reminded Cali of old Earth paintings of the Grim Reaper, the embodiment of Death. His left arm was covered with a strange armour that resembled the Geth Soldiers, which made Cali wonder if he was associated with the Geth. This Turian noticed her, and, rather than shooting at her as well, he simply dashed off towards his ship.

Cali considered running after him, but she pushed the thought aside. Nihlus needed medical attention. She ran to his side, kneeling down once she got there. She quickly took out a field medical kit and looked at Nihlus, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. "Don't you dare die on me, Soldier!" she snapped out, trying to sound like her old drill sergeant, but that didn't stop him from passing out. She let out an angry swear.

Williams and Alenko had caught up to her by now, leaving a trail of dead husks and Geth soldiers in their wake. "What was that ship?" Alenko asked as he watched it disappear in the distance. Williams began to scout the perimeter as Cali applied the medi-gel to the wound, having already pried the bullet out. She let out a small relieved sigh as she dressed the wound quickly, before getting up.

"A Turian? You know him?" Williams asked curiously.

"He's a Spectre; He was with us on the Nor-" Alenko began, but Cali pointed her pistol towards the side, a small rummaging noise coming from there.

"D-Don't shoot! I'm one of you! I'm-I'm human" a panicked voice called out.

###

John stood in living room of the apartment he shared with his sister, which was devoid of any decorations or anything. He turned his head to the right, looking towards the small kitchen as he mused making a cup of coffee, but he thought against it. He needed to finish this call.

"_I'm sorry, John. I don't know about it either. I'd help you if I could, but-_"

"David, don't lie to me. Udina and Hackett would obviously be part of it, but since you're a war hero, I'm not inclined to exclude you. Spectre Recommendations start with over ten thousand soldiers picked, then they're slimmed down to at least five, which will then be picked by the overseeing Spectre and the Brass. So I'll ask you again, David. Why was Cali picked?"

"_John, I'm serious. I don't know. When we received the files, we had gotten yours, so when your sister was chosen, I was surprised myself."_

"So what? Someone switched the files between you and the Spectre?" He asked, to which Anderson shrugged. "Who would have clearance to do **THAT?**" He sighed, before turning to look at Anderson's image on the communicator. "Thanks anyways, David..." he grumbled, before switching off the communicator.

###

Cali let out a small sigh as she finished disarming the last bomb. She stood, dusting her knees off as the last Geth trooper fell from a blast of Ashley's rifle. "Nice Shooting, Ashley." She complimented, as she headed down to the Beacon where Williams and Alenko stood. Ashley just grinned. Alenko looked towards Cali, an uneasy look on his face. She had told him and Ashley to leave Nihlus with the dockworker, Powell, who she was sure to watch over him well, under the threat of being arrested for smuggling if he didn't comply.

"Normandy, the Beacon is secure. Requesting immediate evac. and a stretcher." Cali reported, as Alenko began to approach the Beacon to take his thoughts off Nihlus. Ashley walked over to Cali to discuss the Normandy.

"This is amazing...Actual working Prothean technology...Unbelievable." He muttered to himself. "Something must have activated it..." he began to approach the beacon. It let out a pulse, as if reacting to his presence, before drawing him towards the artefact. Cali noticed this and dashed towards him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she shouted in panic, grabbing his arms. She threw him as hard as she could away from the beacon, not noticing her own proximity to the object. It pulled her in and into the air as images began to flash in her mind. Before she could even register one, the next one flashed before her eyes. She could hear shouting, but she couldn't understand it. The strange slideshow lasted a few moments, before the beacon exploded, propelling Cali several meters back. As she blinked out of consciousness, she saw Alenko's worried face over her own.

###

I realized I wrote a conflicting background for Cali and John from this chapter and the last, so I changed it from the first chapter because I was lazy. They were originally spacers, but Cali then got an altered Colonist background.

...I get the feeling this is kinda a short chapter or something...

The description for Saren was taken almost word-for-word from Revelation, and if you guys think that I should've killed Nihlus off...well...let me know in the form of a Review.


	3. Temper

Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect. I wish I did, but I don't.

Bold: Exaggeration, lyrics.

Italics: past events, thoughts, transmissions

Underline: ship and song names.

---

It has been three days since Cali left on the Normandy, and John was confident that she was fine. He would've received word that that something was wrong, right? He relaxed, as he took a sip of his delicious coffee. Coffee was good...everyone loved coffee....Except Cali. A laugh escaped him as he recalled the first time Cali tried the beverage. He almost thought that he could still see a dark stain on his favourite shirt. For the first time in a while, he felt happy and relaxed. Cali was probably picked for Eden Prime due to some oversight by some idiot above. Once they realize she's the wrong one, they'll bring her right back, and everything will be fine. She'll go back to her band, and they'll play songs just like before. His thoughts were interrupted as Sasha and Alex walked in, along with their other part-time keyboardist, Shauna. He had almost forgotten he had invited them over.

"Hey, John, You're out of ice cream." Sasha announced as she sat down beside him on the couch with her triple scoop of Neapolitan ice cream nestled safely in her hands. He reached to steal some, but simply got a slap on the hand in return. "Uh-uh, this is mine." She grinned.

"Ouch, Sasha, you can't even give some to the one who's out there risking his life more than anyone else in the band? You're so mean..." He faked a sob. Sasha hugged him, before lightly pecking him on the cheek.

"Sorry, baby, but if there's one thing I can't share, it's my ice cream. Anything else is fine, just not ice cream." She smiled, before taking a small bite of the frozen treat. John let out a small laugh before he kissed her lovingly on the lips.

"It's ok, I guess... I can steal some from your mouth." He replied. To prove his point, he stuck out his tongue, where the little chocolate bit rested. Alex and Shauna laughed at this, as Sasha turned a deep crimson. Their mirth had died when a report showed on the television.

"_The colony Eden Prime was attacked yesterday by unknown persons. The death toll is in the thousands, and this has caused many human colonists to pull out of the program in fear of being attacked next. No word as to why the attack has happened, but many pray for the safety of their families. Now, onto sports..._" The news caster, a Salarian female, continued on, but John didn't hear a word of it as he dashed out of the apartment to head to C-Sec.

---

Cali felt weak, like she couldn't move her limbs. There was pain in her back, but it wasn't that bad. She couldn't open her eyes and the voices around her sounded more like garbled white noise.

"She'll be fine, don't worry"

"This is my fault..." a clatter rang through the clinic and a small shockwave of force reached Cali. She assumed whoever spoke had hit the table she was resting on. Wearily, she forced her eyes open, as the lights blinded her. A blob obscured the light. "Doctor...Doctor Chakwas, I think she's waking up." She blinked a few times to get used to the light as the person, who she now identified as Alenko, gently helped her up. She rubbed her eyes slightly, before looking at Alenko with a silent thank you.

"You had us worried there for a while, Shepard. How are you feeling?" the doctor asked. Cali gently rubbed her forehead, sighing.

"Like I just got hit by a semi...How...How did I end up here? How long was I out?" Cali asked, as she shook her head, clearing her head.

"About fifteen hours, I'm afraid. Something happened down there with the beacon." Chakwas replied.

"It's my fault, Shepard, I must've activated some kind of security system when I approached it. You had to push me away from it." Alenko added, looking at the ground quietly. Cali patted him on the arm.

"You had no idea of knowing what would happen. Just be more careful in the future." She comforted him, which resulted in a small smile from the Lieutenant. Chakwas ignored the seemingly affectionate pair.

"Unfortunately, we don't know if that's what set it off, and we'll never know I'm afraid."

"What do you mean?" Cali asked with her brow furrowed. She gained an answer Alenko.

"The beacon exploded after that. It could've been a system overload. Williams and I carried you back to the ship after that, since you were knocked out cold." Alenko provided.

Cali sighed "By system overload, you could mean improper handling. Either way, this mission is a failure." She closed her eyes and placed her head in her hands. _Great, the one mission I get in six years and I fuck it up. Well, maybe the Alliance won't make you come back, provided they don't arrest you for failure of this mission. _She thought angrily to herself. Her berating had been cut short when an unexpected voice spoke from behind her. She turned to see a bandaged up Nihlus sitting on the table beside her.

"Shepard, you did nothing wrong, from what the Lieutenant and the Gunnery Chief told me." He too, sat up, though gingerly. She instantly slid off the table she was on, walking to the Turian.

"Nihlus, are you ok? Oh god, I tried to avoid this, I'm sorry if I-" She began to ramble, but ceased when he held his hand up.

"Shepard, if it wasn't for your warning, I would've died on Eden Prime. I thank you, Shepard." The Turian calmly spoke. She took a deep breath, before nodding.

"S-sorry..." Cali looked at the ground quietly. The Doctor walked over to her. "No lasting damage, Doctor Chakwas?" she asked.

"Well, physically, you're fine, but I detected some abnormal brain activity, beta waves to be specific. Also, there was an increase in rapid eye movement, something usually associated with intense dreaming. Care to share it, Shepard?" Chakwas looked at Cali, while bringing her back to sit on the table she woke up on.

"I saw...well, I don't really know...Death...Destruction...nothing's really clear..." She shook her head, sighing.

"Hm, I'd best add this to my report...it may-" Cali interrupted her.

"What's there to add? A nightmare? I've had plenty of those after Akuze... It's probably linked to that...or Mindoir..." She shook her head, as a voice spoke behind her.

"How are the two wounded?" Captain Anderson asked. Cali turned to face him, giving him a quick salute, which he absentmindedly returned.

"For Shepard, the readings are normal, and she'll be fine. The Medigel Shepard treated Nihlus sealed the wound without incident, and he will be back on his feet soon. He just needs to heal the mild trauma from the bullet at close range." Chakwas replied as Alenko walked back to stand beside Cali, his hand lightly brushing against hers.

"Good. Shepard, I need to speak to you and Nihlus privately." He nodded to the two warriors. Alenko glanced at Cali, before he and Chakwas left.

Once the door closed, the Captain looked warily at Cali "The beacon hit you pretty hard, Cali. Are you ok?" he asked.

"Looks like I did more damage to the beacon than it did to me. I apologize sir." She bowed, but Nihlus reached to place a hand on her shoulder.

"We've been over this, Shepard." He frowned. Cali blushed in embarrassment.

"R-right, sorry."

"Don't apologize that often, Shepard." Nihlus added, something akin to a smirk on his face. She ignored that and began to think, as usual, out loud.

"This 'simple shakedown run' turned out horribly... the beacon was destroyed, Jenkins is dead, and the Geth are invading. Many civilians were killed, and this will likely affect our colonial recruitment. Nihlus nearly ended up dead too...The council will ask questions for answers we don't have." Cali shook her head, sighing. "At least we managed to stop the Colony from being destroyed entirely."

"I trust you, your report, and Nihlus' words. You're a hero in my books, but that's not why I'm here...the other Spectre...Saren..." Anderson had turned his back on the two.

"I don't understand why Saren had done something like that. He was my mentor for many years. We're still good friends. For him to shoot me like that..." Nihlus shook his head, his eyes closing. "It was like he was a different person."

"I know that he's capable, but if he was your mentor, then that means he's probably one of the best the Spectres have to offer." Anderson's voice was contemplative as he tried to organize his thoughts. "But if he's working with the Geth...He's gone rogue. And now he can control the Geth, too. I don't know how, but he's even more dangerous now. And I wouldn't be surprised if he's was behind the attack in Eden Prime. He hates humans." As he finished up his last statement, Anderson ignored the look that Nihlus gave him.

"Must you insist on that mantra? You are contributing nothing to the discussion with your baseless accusations." Nihlus' tone was laced with venom as he glared at the captain. "There is nothing to suggest that the offending Turian was really even Saren. How do you know that it wasn't just another turian? For all we know, someone could've leaked word of the beacon, and some rogue merc could've gone to it, activated it, and stole the information."

Nihlus shook his head, snarling. "If it was a mercenary, he could've sabatoged the beacon. That would explain why the beacon exploded. That is more rational than blaming Saren for your problems" Anderson just sighed as he turned to Cali

"Well you were there when it exploded; it should've given you some clues...Did you see anything that might give us an idea as to what Sar- the Mercenary was after?" Anderson changed his words after another glare from Nihlus.

"...Before I passed out...I had some sort of...vision...Synthetics killing...no, butchering Organics...Geth, maybe, but if it was because of the Beacon, and the Geth have only been around for 400 years, not fifty thousand..." She mumbled out.

"We'll need to tell the council about this, Shepard." Nihlus spoke.

"No" Cali looked at Nihlus.

"We don't know what other information was in the Beacon, but Saren took it. Your vision could've been from the beacon, which could be the only thing we have over Saren." Anderson attempted.

"What? No! That has nothing to do with it! The dream could mean anything. I've been having nightmares ever since ... Akuze..." The young woman's voice fell silent as she slowly turned her attention to the ground.

The brief moment of silence was soon interrupted by Anderson, as he spoke out once more. "I know Saren; I know his politics, his reputation. He sees humanity as blight on the Galaxy, and the attack was an act of war! He has the secrets from the beacon, the Geth at his disposal, his Spectre status...He won't stop at anything to wipe humanity off the face of the galaxy!"

"Are you still adamant on that? You don't know Saren, Anderson, at least not as much as I do. I know him far better than any of you, and he wouldn't do something like that, regardless of what you may think. You're overreacting. " Nihlus retorted angrily.

"Overreacting? You didn't see what he did on that Batarian world back then. He hates humanity because of the First Contact War!"

Cali quickly interrupted before it escalated in an argument.

"Stop! Arguing won't get us anywhere... First things first, we need to figure out who was at Eden prime. If it was just a generic mercenary, then it should be easy... If it was Saren, though..."

"Are you still thinking that?" Nihlus snarled angrily at Shepard, before recollecting himself. It was obvious that the turian was not taking the accusations of his friend too well.

After a hesitant pause, Cali spoke up again, turning to the spectre as she tried to convey her meaning. "It would be best if we ruled out Saren first. We know he wasn't supposed to be at Eden Prime, since he had no reason to. Still, we saw him, or at least someone who looked like him. We should still bring it up with the council."

---

John was beyond furious. He stood at the docks to the Citadel where human ships would land, his right hand twitching slightly. He barely noticed the fact that people were around him whispering about him, or the people standing behind him. Sasha gripped onto his left hand, while Alex and Shauna looked warily at the soldier. John paid their previous warnings no heed.

"John, please. I'm sure they never thought this would happen." Sasha attempted. She was ignored.

The Normandy had finally docked. John stood a few feet from the bridge to the airlock, his entire being shaking slightly with rage. As the door to the ship opened, he could hear a few voices wavering out.

"Commander, are you sure you're ok?" A male voice asked.

"I'm fine, Alenko, I can support myself. You can let go now." The voice of his sister, reached his ears, causing him to calm down slightly.

"S-sorry, Commander..." the male added, as they came to view. His sister was flanked by two human Alliance officers. One was a tall male, black hair, and pink faced, the other was a woman, shorter than his sister by a little, her brown hair done up in a bun. Behind them were Captain Anderson and a Turian in black and red armour. He figured this was the SPECTRE that would train Cali. He paid no heed to any save for his sister.

"Big brother!" His sister had noticed him standing there, and she broke off from the group to run over and hug her brother. He winced slightly at the impact; she was armoured and he wasn't. That would bruise in the morning.

"Hiya brat." He grinned slightly, as he ruffled her hair. She mirrored his expression as she continued to hug him. The others in the group reached him. Alenko stood nervously, watching Cali from behind the woman, who was simply smiling. The Turian nodded to the Band, who waved. John turned his eyes to Anderson, as he let go of his sister, handing her to Sasha.

"Shepard." Anderson greeted. John wasted no words on the man.

He simply punched him.

Cali's jaw dropped when she saw her brother hit Anderson, who fell to the floor. She ran over to her brother, grabbing his arm as he prepared for another hit. "John, stop it!" She shouted. Ashley and Kaidan had taken out their rifles and aimed at John while Nihlus just looked amused. John glared at her, which caused her to step back slightly. He had never once looked at her with such anger before. He turned back to Anderson, his voice dripping with fury.

"That was for lying to me." John snarled, as he grabbed his sister by the shoulders and lead her to the elevator. Cali looked up at him in confusion. He turned his head to the other band members. Sasha was helping Anderson up, Alex seemed to be in the same mindset as John, as Shauna was dragging him back to the elevator. Williams had put away her gun, satisfied that John wouldn't attack again, but Alenko still had his gun pointed at John.

Cali slipped from John's arm "Alenko, stand down" she snapped, the man grudgingly lowering his gun. She turned to look at her brother sadly. "John, what's wrong?" she dropped her voice so that none of the others would hear.

"I got the impression that you would be safe, Cali. It was a simple shakedown run, right? So why the hell was Eden Prime attacked?!" He snarled as quietly as he could. Cali didn't answer, which made him even angrier. "You could've died there! You weren't even supposed to be there! You quit the Alliance, and now they suddenly wanted you to come back just to die?!" He didn't even notice that his voice was raised, or that people were staring at him. Cali just looked at her brother calmly.

"I'm sorry, John. I'm fine though. No real injuries." She smiled slightly as she looked up at her brother. "We managed to save the colony from being destroyed, and-"

"Cal, one wrong move and you could've died. You saw death there, right? It could've aggravated your condition, it could've caused you to lose your mind." His voice had softened, as he looked at his sister with worry. She just smiled and hugged her brother again.

"John, I'm fine. I'm sure that once the debrief is over, I'll be back at Lyrix. I've been dying to sing that Simple Plan song we had planned." She then turned to the band members, who were watching Cali warily. "So, meet at the club around sixteen?" They nodded dimly.

"Well then, I suppose we'll be on our way." Anderson spoke. John just glared at him.

"I'll want a word with you after, Anderson."

---

There are so many things I see wrong with this chapter: Its short, it's late, and it's mostly dialog. I want to make it longer to include the meeting with the council, but it'll be too long then.

Note: She's not talking about military time, the galactic time is an average of the Salarian, Asari and Turian times, which causes the day to have 20 hours, but it's split up in 100 minutes and 100 seconds, and each second is half that of a human second, so it's pretty confusing. The source of this is Revelations.


End file.
